Prayer List

Wednesday, November 22, 2017

Prayer requests from hurting hearts continue to come to this blog. Estrangement affects so many families across our nation. It's rampant! If you're here, reading these posts, then you're one of thousands who know first hand. And I'm so sorry for your pain. I truly am. After awhile, you just want to give up, right? Why try to mend the broken relationships in your life when the other side cold shoulders you? You're stuck. Helpless. Not in control. Hurting, hurting, hurting.

Since the holidays are fast approaching, I searched the Internet for helpful advice. Instead, I found this essay written by a man who shut out his family for 17 years, then came back. The lessons that Bob Brody learned could help so many others who stubbornly turn their backs on family.....

Please share...

...and we'll pray for you and your family (click on our Prayer List). Our goal with this blog is to be a positive place of inspiration. A refuge where you as hurting parents can find understanding. And–through Patrick's eyes and heart–a perspective on what your child is feeling as well.

Guideposts article

Your mother's story...

"But there’s a story behind everything. How a picture got on a wall. How a scar got on your face. Sometimes the stories are simple, and sometimes they are hard and heartbreaking. But behind all your stories is always your mother’s story, because hers is where yours begin."- Mitch Albom, One More Day (submitted by Gayle, a hurting mom)

Need a smile?

Wildscaping...

Our story

In 2002, I ended my first marriage and moved into another home with my daughter. My son, Patrick, stayed with his father. Deeply hurt by the divorce, Patrick didn't speak to me for two and a half years. Desperate to reconnect, I tried everything to reach out to him. Patrick, in his pain, refused my efforts. In December 2004, our relationship began to heal. By the time he graduated from high school in May 2005, we were mother and son again. In 2009, three hurting moms read a post I'd left on WritersWeekly.com in 2003 when I was so needing to talk to someone who understood my pain. Their letters inspired me to write–with Patrick's permission–our story for Guideposts magazine. The article, "Mom Interrupted," was published in November 2010. Several months later, one of those three mothers–after she asked if she could share our Guideposts story with other hurting parents–inspired me to move further in the ministry that Patrick and I share. Once more, I asked for my son's permission, and Patrick graciously again said yes. So here we are, "Broken Bonds, Healing Hearts."